Never Really Over
by LilliabellaMichelle
Summary: This is just a short piece on Will's feelings at the beginning of season 3. Now on Ao3 under lazy storm clouds


**Welcome to my very first Stranger Things fanfiction! I do not own Stranger Things, Lifeforce, or the lyrics. Lifeforce is a real movie that came out in 1985. The lyrics belong to Katy Perry's song _Never Really Over. _Enjoy!**

If Will were asked, he wouldn't be able to pinpoint the exact moment he fell for Mike. He could come up with so many explanations as to _why_ he loved him, but never _when_ he started loving him. Will wouldn't ever be asked, though. He'd been called enough slurs by classmates like Troy and by his da-_ Lonnie. _And by so many people he wouldn't even be able to name. They didn't need any more ammunition.

Will often wondered if there was something obvious that he wasn't seeing. Why were so many people able to tell when he didn't know for so long? He hadn't even realized it until Jonathan called him a freak. He _was_ a freak. He liked boys. In particular, he liked Mike. He loved Mike.

_I'm losing my self-control_

_Yeah, you're starting to trickle back in_

_But I don't want to fall down the rabbit hole_

_Cross my heart, I won't do it again_

Will had tried getting over Mike. It worked well enough for a while. And then, El showed up. Or rather, she didn't. Since she'd appeared at the Snow Ball dance, she and Mike had rekindled _whatever_ they had. Will honestly didn't know if they were dating. Mike was never around long enough to talk to them and when he was, Eleven was never with them.

Mike had gone to Eleven for the past six months and, as far as Will could tell, would just spend hours making out with her. Will had been fine when this had started. But eventually, the bitter feelings surfaced. Will knew he didn't hide it well. Only Max and Lucas were there to notice, though. And they were often either happily going on a date or arguing and breaking up again. Dustin was away at science camp, which left Will somewhat happy as Dustin had always been perceptive.

_I tell myself, tell myself, tell myself_

"_Draw the line"_

_And I do, I do_

_But once in a while, I trip up,_

_And I cross the line _

_And I think of you_

Not long after Steve had gotten his job at Scoops Ahoy, the Party started hanging out in the shop. Sitting in an ice cream shop, the Party discovered, could get boring real quick. It was Max who suggested they try to sneak into a movie. They had to beg Steve for a week before he gave in. It ended up being Robin, Steve's coworker, who ultimately convinced him. Will didn't know exactly what she said, but Steve had agreed to sneak them into the theater using a back hallway.

"If anyone hears about this, you're dead," Steve said.

It was supposed to be a one-time thing. But there was nothing else for them to do. D&D wasn't fun without Dustin. The arcade was okay, but only when they all had the money. Considering they were all pretty broke, sneaking into the movies was the best entertainment they had.

Max, Lucas, Mike, and Will quickly settled into a routine. The four of them would pick a movie, Will would fill his bag with everyone's favorite movie snacks, Max and Lucas would arrive at the same time as Will, and they would wait for Mike to show up late. Mike would finally show up after his makeout sessions with Eleven and they would sneak into the theater.

They tried to sit together, but with Mike's persistent tardiness, they often sat apart. Max and Lucas in one spot and Will and Mike in another. Will would distribute snacks and that'd be that. They'd watch the movie with Mike checking in on Will only a few times.

_Two years and just like that_

_My head still takes me back_

_Thought it was done, _

_But I guess it's never really over_

Sometimes Mike's hand would brush Will's on the shared armrests. Neither moved. Will had trouble focusing when this happened. It was always worse, though, when Mike would turn to him. Will would continually have to force his eyes up away from Mike's lips. They always looked redder and plumper after.. _After he'd come back from kissing_ _her. _Will didn't hate Eleven. He just hated how much he wanted to hate her. He wanted to hate her for taking Mike, but Mike wasn't his in the first place. And never would be.

_Oh, we were such a mess_

_But wasn't it the best?_

_Thought it was done, _

_But I guess it's never really over_

Will had thought maybe he'd read too much into Mike's actions the previous year. A lot of things were hard for him to remember about that year, but a few things stood out. Like Halloween night.

"...then we'll go crazy together, right?"

"Yeah, crazy together."

And when Mike was helping his family try to get the Mind Flayer out of him.

"I asked you to be my friend. And you said yes. It was the best thing I'd ever done."

Will had managed to convince himself Mike wasn't like him. That's when he noticed. One night at the movies, when they were watching _Lifeforce, _Mike had turned to Will and asked if he was okay. But he'd looked at Will's lips first. Will did his best to ignore it, but honestly, he didn't even know what happened in the movie after that.

Will told himself he was seeing things. Mike had El and he was happy. He wouldn't have looked at Will's lips. Will was a boy and _Mike wasn't like that_. Except it kept happening. Once Will had seen it, he realized just how often it happened. The bitter feelings, which he could now call jealousy, would come back full force any time Mike ran off to Eleven.

Will tried to forget. He tried. He did his best to ignore the butterflies anytime Mike turned a soft look on him or stared at him for just a little too long. Will had given up trying by the time Dustin came home. Mike ran off with Eleven and Will was left feeling jilted. Mike wasn't his and he wouldn't be. That didn't make it any easier to actually get over him.

_Just because it's over _

_Doesn't mean it's really over_

_And if I think it over_

_Maybe you'll be coming over again_

_And I'll have to get over you again_


End file.
